Mario Lanza is one
of those giants of an era who seems
to have disappeared in popular culture
as his time passed. Known as "The
Service Caruso", Lanza had all
the makings of a Shakespearean tragic
hero. Even though he was a high-school
drop out, he had a voice unparalleled
and revered by Sinatra and Elvis Presley
in his own day as well as Domingo, Carreras,
and Pavarotti among many others. He
was discovered and made a movie star
after only a single staged production,
but lost his MGM contract over a dispute
with the director Curtis Bernhardt in
1952, and died of a heart attack in
1959 when trying to return to the physical
condition he was in during his Hollywood
days. Even so, his seven films and multitude
of recordings still attract audiences
and stand as a testament to this remarkable
man. Assembled in this box set is a
collection of many of his recordings
from his heyday, which should if properly
executed serve as an excellent introduction
to one of the most magnificent voices
of the twentieth century.
It is unfortunate that this was not
properly executed. The selection of
recordings is not problematic in any
way, nor is the organization. These
discs do a fine job of introducing the
music of Lanza. Although the "Introducing
Mario Lanza" track on the first
disc is an overly long description of
other operatic tenors throughout history
comparing Lanza to them, the true problem
is one of sound fidelity. The recordings
sound as if they were either recorded
directly off an AM radio signal or a
50 year old vinyl record. While this
can, at times, add a nice effect to
vintage recordings of radio shows or
big-band era comedy routines, it hardly
seems appropriate in the case of a musical
introduction to a great voice.
There are three albums presented in
this collection, and unfortunately all
three of them suffer from the same lack
of sound quality. Naxos did notify this
reviewer that the lack of fidelity is
due to the nature of the original recordings:
they are indeed taken in many cases
from 78s and radio broadcasts. As they
were released under the "Nostalgia
Naxos" label, it can perhaps be
assumed that the listener would be expecting
this type of sound, perhaps even finding
it endearing. It is also possible that
the recordings that this set was collected
from were improperly stored and that
there was simply no way to bring the
luster back to such a collection. If
this is the case though, one wonders
at the thought process that would lead
to this collection being released with
no notice on the packaging that these
are low fidelity, vintage recordings
where the remastering largely consists
of reducing the noise from a record
playback rather than a true remastering
of the original.
On the positive side, there is no evidence
of tape-stretching or record-warping
in the transfer. The performances themselves
are very good. Once one forgives the
inferior quality of the recordings themselves,
the music is quite enjoyable. Mario
Lanza was truly a giant among singers
of his day, and that fact that is difficult
to disguise. Additionally, if this were
to be a collection for use as mood music
or background in a theatrical performance
of some kind set in the early 1950s,
it would be ideal.
It is a shame that this collection of
recordings cannot be more highly recommended.
The performances themselves and the
performer certainly deserve a better
tribute. One would wish that better
recordings were presented, as 78s and
radio broadcasts simply cannot hope
to properly convey the power of Mario
Lanza's voice. He was a true giant in
his day, and simply isn't given his
just due when the original recordings
began their existence without that brilliant
timbre and then were allowed to age
for decades. Should someone be searching
for a large collection of Lanza's recordings,
this would not be a bad place to start.
However, it is likely that there are
better recordings available, and if
one is looking for sound quality over
simple exposure to his legacy this would
not be the ideal collection.

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